Finding Without Seeking
by Skye Maxwell
Summary: Seven one-shots for the seven days and themes of Zutara Week 2012.
1. Serendipity

**Happy Zutara Week 2012! I'll be making an attempt at seven themes in seven days. To see the given theme of the day, just look at the chapter name. Today's theme is Serendipity. Hope you enjoy! **

* * *

"Katara, why are you staring at me?"

Katara shook her head to clear it, having spaced out while looking at Zuko from across the campfire.

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

Without saying anything, Zuko stood up and came to sit beside Katara. He lifted his hand and brought the dying fire back to life in case Katara wanted to talk for a while.

When he was done, Katara began to speak as she watched the flames reach desperately toward the sky.

"I was just thinking… that so many things had to happen to get me to where I am now, to this very moment. Thousands of things have happened to me that have set the course of my life, and if certain ones of those changed, I could be in a completely different situation, maybe even be a completely different person."

"I disagree," Zuko interrupted.

Katara looked at him in surprise, but before she could ask for an explanation, he gave one.

"I don't think anything could make you a completely different person. I think no matter what happened, you would always know who you were and not stray from that."

Katara looked away from him and hugged her knees more tightly to her chest.

"Well, then you think too much of me."

Zuko insisted, "At your core, you're good, and you're strong. I don't think circumstances would take that away from you. Me, on the other hand…"

Zuko didn't finish his thought out loud.

"Never mind," he said instead. "What were you saying?"

"The fact that we're here together, talking as friends instead of trying to kill each other… It would have seemed impossible not that long ago. If Sokka and I hadn't found Aang in that iceberg, I would probably still be at the South Pole. My waterbending wouldn't be as strong. I never would have seen the North Pole or any of the other nations. I wouldn't have met Appa or Momo or Toph or Suki or… I'm sorry. I'm just rambling on and on."

"I don't mind," Zuko said, her words striking more of a chord with him than he let on. "If certain things hadn't happened in my life, I never would have gone after the Avatar."

"Yeah, and what a shame that would be," Katara said, laughing it off. "You never would have gotten to chase me and my friends around the world or try to kill us."

"And if I hadn't done those things, I never would have realized that I had any worth outside the approval of the Fire Nation or broken my allegiance to my father," Zuko said seriously, not going along with Katara's humor for some reason.

"And if you hadn't done those things," Katara said, matching his tone, "I wouldn't have been able to forgive you."

Zuko stared at the fire absently, making it leap a little higher every once in a while just for the sake of doing so.

"And if you hadn't forgiven me…" Zuko paused to think about it, and then he shook his head. "No, I would probably still feel this way about you."

Instead of responding to what he had said, Katara wordlessly reached her hand out and tentatively touched his scar. She had only been allowed to do so once before.

"I'm sorry I can't heal it, Zuko," she said quietly, imagining the pain that must have caused the scar, and the pain of having to carry such a distinguishing mark. He deserved so much more than her forgiveness.

"Don't be," he told her, still watching the flames. "It's a reminder—a reminder of who I was and who I've become, a reminder that pain comes before strength… a reminder that everything happens for a reason, and that I can't ever regret the path that led me to you."

He looked over at Katara and was surprised to see that her eyes were shining with tears.

He asked, "Are you… tear-bending?"

Katara stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes, and then she nearly snorted, dropping her hand from his face and half-heartedly punching him in the arm for the reference.

A single tear escaped her eye, but before she could wipe it away, he lifted his hand and used his bending to dry it, making it evaporate into the night.

He almost laughed afterwards; it was the gentlest thing he had ever done with his firebending.

His potential laughter was brought to a standstill, however, when the rest of Katara's tears started falling from her eyes.

"Did I hurt you?" Zuko asked in a panic, figuring his bending must not have been as gentle as he thought.

She quickly grabbed his hand to show him that she wasn't afraid of it and knew he wouldn't use it to hurt her.

Squeezing his hand gently, she whispered, "Zuko, the whole truth is… I was staring at you because… I love you. I kind of just figured it out."

Zuko was visibly staggered, not having expected those words to ever come out of Katara's mouth. He was so surprised and relieved and thrown off that he almost didn't hear the next words she said. Almost.

"Zuko, everything has led to _right now_," she breathed, her nerves getting the best of her voice.

No longer wanting or needing to restrain himself, he leaned in toward her, only briefly pausing right before their faces touched.

"Right _now_?" he asked, his voice only audible because of their proximity.

Katara felt her nerves melt away, and a smile appeared on her face.

"Right now," she answered him before letting out a small laugh that was almost instantly cut off.


	2. Momentous

**Gah, I'm a day behind in the prompts because these one-shots keep turning out longer than I expect them to. Oh well, I now give you the young Fire Lord and his wife:**

* * *

"It's still beautiful," Katara said, looking up at the ornate exterior of the building.

"It's been far too long," Zuko said, leading Katara up the steps with his arm around hers.

The sun was setting on Ba Sing Se, casting a golden light over the Jasmine Dragon. The people of the Upper Ring smiled warmly and bowed when they saw the royal couple passing by.

"Watch your step, Katara," Zuko warned as Katara waved to an enthusiastic young earthbender.

Katara rolled her eyes for about the hundredth time that day.

"You don't have to be so overprotective, Zuko," she told him. "And neither do our guards!" she added loudly so that the royal guards who were hiding in various spots behind them could hear.

Katara had not wanted the guards to accompany Zuko and Katara on their trip to the Earth Kingdom because she saw no need for it. The guards, however, had a sworn duty to protect the Fire Lord and his wife no matter what, and they could only be called off by the Fire Lord himself.

They did take Katara's wishes into account, though, so they hid from her sight whenever they could so that she could pretend that they weren't there.

"You'd think by now they would realize that the two of us have a pretty good track record of taking care of ourselves," Katara huffed. "And each other, for that matter."

"Normally I'd agree with you, but with your condition, I think it's best to have them around just in case," Zuko said.

Katara's shoulders slumped. "I finally understand why Toph was so frustrated by people always thinking she was helpless and couldn't handle herself."

Zuko looked down at her face. "Are you pouting? I have to say, Katara, you are looking rather not-royal right now."

"You got a problem with that, Mr. Fire Lord?" Katara asked, glaring at him.

"Nope," he said, smiling fondly.

Katara's glare immediately softened, and then she couldn't help smiling back at him.

"You're so frustrating," she said with a laugh.

"Thank you," he replied happily.

"And you're becoming more and more like your uncle every day," Katara said.

"I take that as the highest compliment," Zuko said, his voice warm and genuine.

"Speak of the devil," Katara said, letting go of Zuko's arm and running toward the front door of the Jasmine Dragon, which was just slipping open.

"Katara! What are you doing? No running!" Zuko yelled, running after her.

Before he reached her, she was in the arms of Iroh, laughing and hugging him tight.

"Katara," Iroh said, patting her hair. "You are as lovely and radiant as ever."

"And your hugs have somehow managed to get even better," she complimented back.

"Uncle! Don't squeeze her too hard!" Zuko cried from behind Katara.

Iroh released Katara, who stepped out of the way so he could see Zuko.

Iroh stepped toward Zuko and said, "No, I believe _this_ would be squeezing too hard."

He threw his arms around Zuko and lifted him off the ground, hugging him so tightly that Zuko's spine cracked.

"Uncle! Put me down!" Zuko commanded.

Iroh complied, bowing as he said, "It is nice to see you too, Fire Lord Zuko."

"Uncle, I've told you that you don't have to call me that," Zuko said, rubbing his neck.

"But it is my honor, Fire Lord Zuko!" Iroh proclaimed, throwing his arms up to show his enthusiasm.

He turned to Katara and ushered her into the tea shop, saying, "Plus, it just makes me so proud to say it. Our little Zuzu is all grown up!"

Katara laughed as she glanced back at Zuko, who did not seem amused.

"And you definitely don't have to call me that," Zuko muttered as he followed them inside.

"I haven't seen you two since the wedding," Iroh commented, showing Katara to a table.

"You must be surprised to see us, Uncle," Zuko said.

"In all my years of experience, I've learned not to be surprised by anything," Iroh replied.

Katara was about to pull her chair out, but Zuko leapt in front of her.

"That chair looks heavy, Katara. Let me do it," he said, pulling out the chair.

"You've got to be kidding me," Katara sighed, plopping into the chair.

"Luckily for you two," Iroh said, "I have just started a pot of jasmine tea. Excuse me while I go check on it."

"Actually, Uncle, do you have enough tea for about ten more? My guards are… er, hiding outside," Zuko said.

"This is a tea shop, my nephew. I have enough tea for a whole army, plus myself! That, I assure you, is a _lot _of tea."

Katara chuckled and then asked, "Can I help you with that, Uncle Iroh?"

"No!" Zuko promptly answered. "I'll help him with it! You just sit there and be safe, okay? Will you be okay here alone?"

"I'm never alone," Katara said, crossing her arms and pointing listlessly toward the door.

When Zuko looked, the heads of several masked guards who had been peering around the door quickly disappeared.

"Okay, I'll be right back," Zuko said, following Iroh.

"I'll be counting the seconds," Katara said melodramatically.

Beaming as they went toward the kitchen, Iroh gave Zuko a hearty slap on the back and said, "It will be just like old times, my nephew."

Left "alone" in the spacious main room, Katara shifted about in her chair restlessly.

When she heard shuffling outside the door, she yelled, "I know you're out there!"

The shuffling came to an abrupt halt. Katara sighed once again.

"Will you guys just come in and sit down? Tea is being prepared for you, and all of you spying on me is rather unnerving."

After a moment, the guards all filed in sheepishly, occupying several tables in the corner farthest from Katara. Once they were seated, they silently looked around at the ceiling and walls, still pretending that they weren't there.

"I love you all, but I don't know what I'm going to do with you," Katara said tiredly.

The guards all regarded her words as an honor and sat up a little taller in their seats.

Just then, Zuko and Iroh returned, each carrying a tray with a teapot and cups.

"Are you okay, Katara?" Zuko asked as soon as she was in his sight.

"I'm just dandy," she said. "And look, I even brought in the guards so that I would be extra safe."

"Ah, good for you. I'm glad you've come to your senses," he said, kissing her forehead before taking his tray over to the guards' tables.

Iroh poured a cup of tea and handed it to Katara, and then he poured two more cups for himself and Zuko.

Meanwhile, the guards were making a fuss because Zuko was trying to serve them.

"Men," Zuko said with authority, "I'm going to serve you this tea, and you're going to accept it. Not too long ago, I worked in this tea shop. You've traveled a long way, and this is the least I can do for you. Now please, take off your masks and try to relax. You've earned it."

Although they felt uncomfortable doing so, the guards removed their masks and allowed their Fire Lord to serve them.

"He is doing quite well," Iroh observed from his seat, sipping his tea. "He is leading by example, showing that a true leader, above all, is a servant."

"You really must be so proud," Katara said softly, sharing Iroh's feelings.

Zuko returned with a small smile on his face, taking his seat between Iroh and Katara.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Iroh finally asked.

"Well, we wanted to tell you in person…" Katara started.

"…that you're going to be a grand-uncle," Zuko said.

The announcement was followed by a chorus of spitting noises.

The three of them looked toward the other occupied tables and saw that more than one of the guards had spit out their tea at hearing the news.

"I guess you didn't tell them yet?" Iroh asked.

"Not quite," Zuko answered as he watched the guards in a frenzy of cleaning up the mess.

"They would have been even more unbearably protective," Katara said. "And I've already got enough of Zuko being ridiculously overprotective. I'm not even showing yet, and he's already treating me like the baby is due any second! I'm surprised he let me pick up this teacup by myself."

Zuko responded, "Did you want me to pick it up for you?"

Katara resisted the urge to slap him.

When he and Katara turned back toward Iroh, they were surprised to see tears rolling down his face.

Iroh took a moment to dab at his eyes a bit with his sleeve and then said, "When my son passed away… When Lu Ten died, my hope died with him. I didn't want to fight anymore. I didn't want to be the Fire Lord, and sometimes… I didn't even want to live. But with you, Zuko…" he said, placing his hand on top of Zuko's and squeezing it. "With you, my hope was reborn. In your eyes, I could see my son again. And now, seeing you like this, full of so much hope and love, about to have your own son… it's more than I could have ever asked for," he finished, his voice breaking.

Katara, unhindered by Zuko or the guards, leapt out of her seat and rushed to Iroh's side. Zuko moved his chair closer to his uncle and placed his free hand on top of Iroh's, creating a pile.

"I'm sorry. I have become quite the sentimental old man," Iroh said, laughing lightly and sniffling.

"It's okay," Katara said, patting his arm. "We know what this means to you."

"You two- you _three_ mean everything to me," Iroh said before abruptly standing up. "Such an occasion calls for my best, most expensive tea!"

"Uncle! This tea is just fine," Zuko told him, also standing up.

"Yes, it's actually the best tea I've ever had," Katara agreed.

"No no, I will get my very best tea. You both sit down right this instant," he commanded fiercely in a way reminiscent of his days as a general.

Zuko and Katara fell back into their seats with wide eyes, feeling like they were little kids again.

"Zuko, you must stay here and take care of your fragile wife! I will be right back," Iroh declared, shuffling quickly away.

"Fragile wife?" Katara said when Iroh was out of sight, throwing her hands up in the air. "I give up."

It started out as a chuckle, but then Zuko was laughing loudly, holding his stomach. Katara joined him, and soon even the guards were laughing, the sound filling every corner of the Jasmine Dragon.

Iroh, who hadn't reached the kitchen yet and was instead peeking around the corner to look at everyone, smiled to himself and wiped another tear away before going to fetch his best, most expensive tea.


	3. Transcend

**This one's a shorty. Three cheers for parallelism! **

* * *

While traveling with Zuko, Katara learns a lot of things about him that she hadn't exactly expected from the banished prince.

She picks up a fact here and there, sometimes from talking to him directly, sometimes from conversations he has with the others, and sometimes even from the things he says out loud to himself.

He can easily sneak up on almost anyone (not including Toph), and he enjoys doing so.

He was trained to play the tsungi horn from a young age and is good at it, but he doesn't like to play in front of people.

He gets annoyed at how crazy his uncle can get about tea, but he actually does happen to enjoy a steaming cup of ginseng tea once in a while.

He is particularly fond of turtle seals, turtle crabs, and most of all, turtle ducks.

His favorite color is blue.

He is afraid that he will become like his sister.

He wants to find his mother again, more than anything.

In addition, Katara learns some even more unexpected things about Zuko by observation.

He can be awkward and doesn't always know what to say.

He regrets his past actions that made her hate him, even though everything he did had a viable reason behind it.

He has the capacity to change.

He has more good in him than bad.

He is oddly charming.

Zuko isn't the only one transcending Katara's expectations, though. She seems to be surprising herself more and more as the days go on.

She never expected that she would be able to look past Zuko's betrayal.

She never expected to feel sympathy for him.

She never expected that she would be hanging onto his words, always on the lookout for something new to learn about him.

She never expected to be… fascinated, not with Zuko.

She never expected any of this…

She wants to work on her stealth so that maybe she could successfully sneak up on him one day.

She wants to convince him to play the tsungi horn for her.

She wants to find a tea shop and see how he likes the ginseng tea there.

She wants to fill a pond with all of his favorite turtle-related animals.

She wants to have a house next to that pond, and she wants to paint all of the walls blue.

She wants to be there for him whenever he needs assurance that he is nothing like Azula.

She wants to travel the world with him as he searches for his long-lost mother.

She wants him to have closure so that he can move on with his life.

And the life he has when he's finally allowed himself to move on?

She wants to be a part of that life.

Katara never expected to fall in love with him.

But nowadays, Katara is getting used to defied expectations.


	4. Whimsical

**So, I imagine this takes place shortly after ZuZu is crowned as Fire Lord. He accompanies Hakoda, Sokka, and Katara as they make their first return trip to the South Pole.**

* * *

"So, how did you like your first day in the South Pole, Zuko?" Katara asked as they walked together, alone for the first time in days.

"It's very bright during the day, with all the ice and snow. The people are nice. The food is… interesting," Zuko answered.

"What, you don't like the blubbered seal jerky? It's very valuable around here, you know," she said, putting her hands on her hips and feigning offense.

"I didn't mean that," Zuko said, looking away.

Katara frowned at his tone and grabbed his arm to stop him from moving forward.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Katara asked.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at her guiltily.

"Zuko, it's okay. Blubbered seal jerky is an acquired taste," Katara told him, squeezing his arm.

"No, I'm sorry for what the Fire Nation did to this place," he said gravely. "I'm sorry that we destroyed your defenses. I'm sorry that we took away your families. I'm sorry that you all have so little and that giving me seal jerky was a sacrifice for your family," he said, loosening his arm from her grip and turning to continue walking.

Katara watched him walking away and flinched when he sent an angry blast of fire into the air.

She understood why he felt the way he did, but she still didn't want him to feel that way.

From where she stood, she froze his feet to the ground mid-stride.

He didn't struggle to free himself, didn't melt the ice with his firebending, just stood still and waited for her to make her way over to him.

She stood in front of him and took his coat in her hands. She had never purposely been this close to him, but she wanted to convey to him somehow that he was a friend, someone she cared about and trusted, and that she didn't blame him.

He didn't want to look at her, but there was nowhere else to look.

"I'm sorry," he said again. "As soon as I get back to the Fire Nation, I'm sending a whole fleet of Fire Navy ships here with supplies, and I'll be with them. I'm going to make sure that my people never bring harm to yours again."

Katara wanted to cry, for a number of reasons. She didn't like how hurt Zuko was, but she was also so happy that he would be sending help to the Southern Water Tribe.

Holding herself together, she just nodded gratefully and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hey, let's have some fun now, okay?" Katara said, masking the sadness in her voice.

Zuko gave her a weird look before saying, "Yeah, let's do that."

Katara smiled, releasing his coat and grabbing his hand to pull him forward.

"Katara! Wait!" Zuko said with alarm.

"What?" Katara asked, but then she noticed him pointing to his still-frozen feet.

"Oh, sorry, Zuko!" she said, bending his feet free.

Now that he could move, she pulled him along, saying, "We'll just walk a little ways farther toward the water. The moon is coming up, and it looks amazing on the ocean at night."

As they walked, Katara noticed that Zuko was squeezing her hand pretty hard. She had a lot of work to do.

When she found a spot that she was satisfied with, Katara set to work.

After three violent snowball fights, two unflattering ice sculptures, and having an igloo built around him, Zuko was lighthearted again, smiling at pretty much everything Katara did.

When he crawled to the entrance of the igloo, Katara was nowhere to be seen. He then silently crawled out just far enough to see her sitting on top of the igloo, with a snowball in her hand, waiting for him to come out.

Formulating a plan, he crawled back into the igloo and swiftly melted the ceiling.

Katara screamed as she fell into the igloo, gasping when she landed in a drenched Zuko's arms.

"You punk!" was the first thing that came out of her mouth, and then she started laughing loudly at herself.

Enjoying her laughter, Zuko set her down and just watched her as her face turned red from laughing so hard.

Zuko then blasted the igloo into a puddle around them. The puddle froze over a lot faster than he expected, though, and after a couple steps, he slipped and started to fall forward.

Katara couldn't react fast enough to save him, and he smacked against the ice with a sickening thud.

"Zuko!"

She ran over to his side and shook him, saying, "Zuko, are you okay? Zuko, say something!"

The noise started out as a snicker, but then it grew into a full, rolling laugh.

Now Zuko was the one laughing uncontrollably at himself.

"Oh, Zuko, I think you may have hit your head a little too hard," Katara said as she helped him up, not used to him laughing so freely.

When they were both standing again, she examined him for injuries. Her eyes landed on a harsh red scrape along the right side of his jaw.

"Don't worry, I'll fix it!" she declared immediately, reaching her hand up to heal him.

"Wait," he said, causing her hand to stop in mid-air. "I need you to do something, and don't ask me why. Just trust me."

"Um, okay," she said, wondering what on earth he wanted.

"Take a large block of ice and levitate it a ways above our heads," he requested.

She was about to ask him why, but then she remembered she was supposed to trust him, so she just did as he asked.

Once the giant chunk of ice was about fifty feet in the air, Zuko said, "Okay, that's good."

He took a moment to make sure he would be hitting it just right, and then he raised a fist and sent up a powerful blast of fire.

Katara's mouth fell open as the block of ice disintegrated into a million tiny snowflakes.

"How did you even…?" she began, but he interrupted by pulling her close to him.

"You can heal me now," he said as the snowflakes began to surround them.

Katara blushed as she placed her hand on his face.

He laughed a little as snowflakes began to stick to Katara's hair, and then he gently leaned in to capture a cleverly-planned kiss.

Her hand began to glow as she, with her eyes closed, healed his scrape. When she opened her eyes again, his skin was restored, and he was smiling warmly down at her.

Simultaneously, they looked up and watched the last bits of snow come down.

"So, um…" Zuko said, fully realizing what had just happened and looking down to see he was still holding her.

"Uh, yeah…" Katara said, equally as awkwardly as Zuko.

Zuko offered, "I think I like it here."

"Yeah, it's nice here," Katara replied, laughing and resting her head on his chest.

* * *

**Zuko could only act suave for so long. Alas.  
****By the way, if you want to see the original posts of these one-shots, hit up SkyeWall on DeviantArt.  
****Please review, if you could! :)**


	5. Heartstrings

******This one is a shorty too. The next two chapters are longer, and then this story is all done! **

**To PockySnowshadow: Wow. That compliment kind of blows my mind. I haven't read too much Zutara, but I know there has to be some fantastic stuff out there, so thank you so much. **

* * *

Sokka came up behind Zuko, who was obviously staring at Katara as she practiced her waterbending.

"What do you want, Sokka?" Zuko asked before Sokka was even in sight.

Sokka crossed in front of Zuko, who was sitting on the ground. He purposely blocked Zuko's view of Katara and crossed his arms as he looked down at Zuko.

"I see you're not even trying to hide it anymore," Sokka said, jutting his bottom lip out in disapproval.

"I suppose it's not necessary anymore. Everyone knows it," Zuko sighed.

"Well, my sister doesn't seem to know about it, and I'd like to keep it that way," Sokka said, flexing his muscles a bit and leaning forward so that he would seem more imposing.

"You don't have to worry about that, Sokka. I'm pretty sure if I followed her all day and stared at her, she wouldn't notice," Zuko said lethargically.

Something in Sokka's instincts made him feel a little sorry for Zuko, and he rolled his eyes and took a seat beside Zuko.

Zuko's eyes immediately went back to Katara.

"You look at her the way I look at the moon every night," Sokka said, wiping some dirt off his pants.

"I feel kind of pathetic," Zuko admitted, not noticing the dirt that Sokka had gotten on him.

"Kind of pathetic? You're completely pathetic, man," Sokka corrected. "She's got your heart on strings like a marionette."

"Marionette? What's that?" Zuko asked, looking at Sokka.

"You never had one of those as a kid? It's like a puppet, but its arms and legs and stuff are attached to strings, and…" Sokka paused, finding it hard to explain.

At a loss, he stood up and tried to demonstrate.

"Well, you see, there's these strings, and they're attached to different parts of the puppet, and the strings are attached to a couple of sticks, and then you move the sticks, and the puppet goes up and down like this," Sokka explained, dancing around as if someone was pulling at his strings.

"And I'm the pathetic one?" Zuko asked.

"Sokka, what are you doing?" Katara asked as she approached the two of them.

"Just demonstrating to Zuko what a marionette is," Sokka said, continuing his jerky little dance.

"And why would you be doing that?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"I told Zuko that you have his heart on strings like a marionette, but he didn't know what a marionette was," Sokka said casually.

"I have your heart on strings like a marionette?" Katara asked Zuko with her eyebrows raised.

"Sokka!" Zuko yelled angrily.

He jumped to his feet and punched the air, sending a blast of fire over Sokka's head that severed Sokka's invisible marionette strings.

Sokka, with his ever-active imagination, instantly crumpled to the ground once his strings were cut.

"Nothing confirms an accusation like a violent reaction," Katara said to Zuko with a smirk.

Zuko, with eyes flashing wildly, pointed at her and accused, "I have your heart on strings too, and that's why you've been ignoring me!"

A second later, Zuko was on the ground and sopping wet from head to toe, having been hit by a wall of water courtesy of Katara.

Katara was staring him down, still in her bending stance and breathing hard when the forlorn pile of Sokka said, "You know, Katara, nothing confirms an accusation like…"

"Yeah, yeah," Katara interrupted dully, realizing what she had just done and blushing a little.

* * *

**NSYNC, anyone? ;)**


	6. Faded

**This takes a scene from the finale of Avatar and makes it a bit more intense. Too intense for a kid's show, anyways.**

* * *

It hit him—how much he loved Katara—just before the lightning hit him in the chest.

And just like he couldn't redirect his feelings for her, as much as he had tried to push them down, he couldn't redirect all of the lightning that Azula had sent at Katara. It was too strong, too sudden, and fueled with some awful wayward passion.

After defeating Azula, Katara collapsed onto the ground, exhausted and battered. The smell of blood mixed with the smell of singed hair and flesh, overwhelming her to the point of almost making her vomit.

She lifted a shaking hand to heal herself of her battle wounds, but it fell back down just as quickly. She had nothing left in her.

"Zuko," she said desperately, nearly choking on his name.

She crawled.

In what felt like the longest moments of her life, she weakly dragged herself along the ground to Zuko, one measly inch at a time. It was all the effort she had, but somehow it wasn't enough.

When she was just a few feet away from his terrifyingly still body, her body gave out again, forcing her against the unyielding ground. She tried to say his name again, but only a breathy, strangled noise came out.

She reached her right hand toward him, and her fingertips could just barely brush against his hand.

This was enough to make her give that extra push, and with an unworldly yell of pain, she heaved herself over to him. She knelt at his side and took his hand in a weak grip, trying with all her might to not pass out and fall onto him.

"_Wake up_!" she yelled with icy fury, not taking the time to toy around with begging. "_Now_!"

Zuko's eyes eased open, taking more than a moment to find Katara.

As his gaze settled lazily on her, he struggled to put the pieces in his mind together.

He knew that he knew her, he was sure of that. Her name was on the tip of his tongue, but it only made his explosive headache worse trying to recall it.

After much effort, he finally said uncertainly, "Katara?"

She barely managed a nod as she wrapped both of her hands around his one.

He watched her do this, but it felt as if he was far away, watching her take hold of someone else's hand. He couldn't feel her touch. He could barely hear the sobs that were escaping her throat despite her attempts to suppress them.

He felt something for the blur of a girl beside him, but he didn't know what. He wanted to know what it was about her that was making his head swim, but it was hard to get a handle on those feelings when he was in so much physical pain. He was almost thankful that he couldn't feel his legs or his hands, but then he wasn't, because he wanted to know the feeling of her touch.

She moved her mouth and said something, but he didn't hear it. He just stared at her, wondering if he had imagined that she had tried to speak to him.

She moved her mouth again, though, and he could just barely make out the sound of her voice.

"Louder," he said quietly, aching to understand her.

"I can't heal you!" she cried, and then he wished that he hadn't been able to hear her.

He didn't care that he couldn't be healed. He was more concerned with the heartache in her voice. He felt guilty for causing it.

And then it suddenly came back to him.

Lightning.

Azula.

"Azula?" he said in a questioning voice.

"Dead," Katara answered loudly, fighting down the urge to throw up once again. "I'm sorry, Zuko. I had no choice."

"Don't be sorry," he said, closing his eyes.

"No!" Katara shouted. "Don't you dare close your eyes!"

Zuko's eyes snapped back open, but his vision seemed even cloudier. The burning pain from the raw wound that ran down his chest and abdomen was somehow managing to grow in intensity, but he felt that something was missing…

"Katara, I can't feel my heart beating," Zuko said in a moment of panic, sounding like a child.

"Just be quiet, okay?" Katara said, trying to appear calm for him.

She didn't mention to him how cold his hand was or how she hadn't been able to find a pulse in his wrist.

No longer able to hold herself up, she lay down next to him, pressing her forehead into his shoulder. She placed her right hand on his chest. Her own pulse was pounding in her fingers.

The sensation comforted Zuko, who could almost believe that her rapid pulse was his own.

"Katara? Can you just talk, about anything? I want to listen to your voice," Zuko requested.

"Okay," Katara said, not knowing where she would get the strength to do so from.

Her words consisted mostly of apologies interrupted by tears at first. Eventually, she began to talk about her fight against Azula, and then she started talking solely about herself and Zuko—the crazy path that led them to where they were, how she didn't want that path to stop…

The more she spoke, the more he noticed that her voice was gradually fading in his ears. It was like listening to a song that gently fades away at the end, except it was more drawn out and more devastating.

"I can't hear you anymore," he eventually had to tell her. "I can't feel you anymore either. I can't feel anything."

He couldn't feel the pain anymore. There was no feeling of relief, either.

He whispered a few last words to her, but he couldn't hear himself say them.

She shook her head violently, and the last thing he saw before he blacked out was her thrusting both of her hands onto his torn flesh and then passing out on top of him.

* * *

When he told her that he couldn't feel anything anymore, her heart stopped.

When he used his last words to make sure she knew that he loved her, her heart started again, beating painfully in her chest.

She threw herself into a sitting position while shaking her head wildly.

She wouldn't let those be his last words.

She wouldn't allow him to never hear her say that she loved him back.

Either that or she wouldn't let herself be around to ever say another word.

In a final, adrenaline-fueled effort, she placed her hands roughly into his deep wound, not even coherent enough to get sick over the feel of his blood and broken flesh on her hands.

She put all of her focus on her own heartbeat, and then she pulled all of the strength from it that she could, trying to heal him in one final blast.

She barely heard her own screams.

She couldn't feel her heartbeat anymore, or her hands on him.

She didn't get to see if it worked.

She crumpled forward over him and his wound, and then her eyes fell closed.

* * *

Katara failed.

She had vowed to herself to make sure that he would hear her say she loved him.

He never did hear her say those words, though.

After that, he didn't hear anything at all.

There was nothing she could do about that.

Her final effort had healed his external damage, nearly killing her in the process, but his internal damage was beyond her reach.

They both agree, however, that they much prefer him being deaf over dead.

He can clearly _see_ that she loves him, anyway.

And that's all that counts.

* * *

**All of the physical things that happened to Zuko are actual possible effects for someone who gets struck by lightning (confusion, cold hands, lack of pulse in hands, hearing loss). **  
**If you're at all unclear about the ending, please do message me and ask. **


	7. Seasons

**Well, this is the last one for this series! Usually I only write Zutara once a year for ZWeek, but madthesaxon effectively flattered me by requesting more, so I'll have a separate one-shot coming out before the end of the summer. Thanks to everyone for reading!  
This takes place a little while before the Momentous one-shot. Please enjoy!**

* * *

Katara ran into one of the servants, Aiza, in the hallway.

"Aiza! Good morning! How are you?" Katara asked, glowing with youthful happiness.

"Uh, I'm doing quite well," Aiza answered uneasily.

She was one of the oldest servants in the Royal Palace, and she just wasn't quite used to the new Fire Lady yet.

"Aiza, would you happen to know where I could find an empty basket?" Katara asked.

"Yes, I will go get one for you, my lady," Aiza answered, starting to shuffle toward the kitchen.

"Don't be silly. I'll come with you," Katara said, walking beside her. "And just call me Katara. It's my name, after all."

Aiza surely wasn't going to just call the Fire Lady by her name, but she could almost appreciate the sentiment, in a weird way.

Once they were in the kitchen, Aiza quickly found a basket and handed it to Katara.

Normally she wouldn't question the Fire Lady's intentions, but since she was curious and Katara insisted on being so nice…

"May I ask what you will be using the basket for, my lady?" Aiza asked tentatively.

"Well, my lady," Katara teased, "Don't you know what season it is?"

"I do believe it's summer," Aiza answered.

"Besides that!" Katara laughed. "It's berry season!"

"Berry season? You're going out to pick berries by yourself, my lady?" Aiza questioned, wondering why Katara didn't just tell someone to go do it for her.

"Of course not! Zuko is coming with me," Katara said with a smile.

"The… the Fire Lord?" Aiza asked, in a state of disbelief.

"He's the only Zuko I know of," Katara stated.

"So… you're going to go pick berries… with the Fire Lord…" Aiza said slowly, still not comprehending.

"Yes, my lady, that is exactly what I intend to do," Katara said. "Do you find that strange? If so, you obviously haven't spent enough time around us, which is a shame. We'll be back this afternoon with a bunch of purple berries, and I would love to help you make fruit pies with them. Then you should have dinner with Zuko and me. He would help us with the fruit pies, but I'm afraid he's a lousy baker. He always ends up burning things."

"You… want to make fruit pies with me… and then you… want me to come to dinner… with you and the Fire Lord…" Aiza, eying the young girl. "You two really don't know how to act royal, do you?" she found herself asking, but then she clapped a hand over her own mouth.

Katara laughed again and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe those who came before us didn't know how to act royal."

Aiza just stared at her, not knowing how to reply.

Just then, Zuko entered the kitchen.

"Oh, Zuko, there you are!" Katara said, going over to him and grabbing his hand. "I got the basket. Let's go!"

Zuko took the basket from her with his free hand, and they began to walk away. Aiza watched the pair, raising an eyebrow at the Fire Lord swinging the handmade basket at his side.

"Where did you find this?" Zuko asked Katara.

"Aiza found it for me," Katara said.

Zuko looked back, and Aiza's face turned red as she tried to pretend that she hadn't been watching them.

"Hey, Aiza," he said with a smile, and then the two of them continued on.

"Hey," Aiza said mostly to herself, her eyes narrowed.

Zuko and Katara ventured out on their own, despite the protests of the palace guards. After overriding the protests of yet another set of guards, they made their way past the palace's defensive perimeter and headed southwest toward the palace garden. Two hours later, the basket was filled to the top…

"Zuko? Did you eat some of the berries?" Katara asked. "I swear the basket was full a second ago."

"No," Zuko said quickly.

"Stick your tongue out then," she said, walking over to him.

Zuko shook his head, pretty clearly indicating his guilt, and Katara chucked a handful of berries at his face.

"Liar!" she accused with a laugh. "I wonder if your legendary _immaturity _will make it into the history books!"

He stuck out his purple tongue and then said, "Only if yours does!"

"Zuko!" She went to whack him on the arm, but he grabbed her wrist to stop her and then bent down to kiss her before she could say anything.

"Jerk," Katara said as he pulled her into a hug.

"I know," he said with a chuckle.

"You know, Zuko," Katara said, looking up at him, "The people in the palace really don't what to make of us."

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"I don't know, I guess… they seem almost offended when I ask them nicely for things or when I treat them like real people," she said, frowning.

"They're just not used to you yet, or me, for that matter. I wasn't this nice to them when I was a kid, and I think it kind of freaks most of them out. I have to admit, if you weren't here, I'd probably be acting as stiff and pompous as they're expecting us to act now."

"It's just… I want to earn their respect, not demand it. I don't want to be like…"

"Like my father?" Zuko asked.

"I didn't mean-"

"No, it's okay," Zuko assured her. "I don't want to be like him either. We have to be the change we want to see in the world. A new season of ruling has come, Katara."

Katara stared at him dreamily. "You and your fancy Fire Lord talk," she said humorously. "How come you sound so eloquent when you're saying your Fire Lord stuff, but you can't even say you love me half the time without stuttering?"

Zuko let go of her and made an immature face. "I do not stutter!"

"Yes, you do!" Katara yelled, running back toward the berries and sticking out a purple tongue over her shoulder.

"Hey!" Zuko cried, chasing after her.


End file.
